The Fashion Week Crash Course

Fashion Weeks

When do they happen?

February/March (SS)

September/October (AW)

(In order of occurrence)

NEW YORK

Examples:

- Marc Jacobs

- Yeezy

- Tom Ford

- Michael Kors

- DKNY

- Tommy Hilfiger

- Alexander Wang

LONDON

Examples:

- Burberry

- Paul Smith

- Henry Holland

- Topshop Unique

- Tom Ford

- Molly Goddard

PARIS

Examples:

- Louis Vuitton

- Miu Miu

- Chanel

- Vivienne Westwood

- Valentino

- Kenzo

- Stella McCartney

- Alexander McQueen

- Dior

- Celine

- Chloé

MILAN

Examples:

- Moschino

- Fendi

- Gucci

- Prada

- Dolce & Gabbana

- Versace

Designers usually appear in the Fashion Week that most inspires their collection or their taste. For example, Rhianna's new Fenty x Puma collection made it's debut at Paris Fashion Week because

pieces were inspired by Palatial spaces and the Edwardian era, which is still noticeable in Paris' architecture and art.

The characteristics of such iconic cities also have huge influence on where designers decide to showcase their latest work. New York is polished, commercial, encourages realism, practicality and sportswear. London is known for its abundance of fashion designer graduates: the city is experimental and is semi in love with it's heritage. And Milan is known for it's quality, loves embellishment, luxury and excess = success.

Did you know?

It only takes Zara 6 weeks to translate catwalk designs as appose to the average 18 months from couture to high street.

FASHION CALENDER CHAOS

In the last 12 months, everything has changed. Day in, day out, I see articles about how the rules of the fashion industry have officially been thrown out.

Designers are often relying on a celebrity face to save their brand. For example, Tommy Hilfiger is now a desired designer for those who buy from the high street. His choice to use GiGi as the face of his brand has not only saved it, but made it plausible for someone like me to purchase it. GiGi has 23.9 million followers and has generated over £18m for TH in the last two years vs the 30 years before GiGi.

See Now Buy Now: Shop the Show. You can now buy collections that you see on the runway before they've even left the stage. Meaning the process from design to purchase becomes quicker, and thus more demanding. Now this is where more ethical issues occur such as sweatshops and the unnecessary deaths of garment workers, but this was the birth of fast fashion which is ultimately going to destroy the industry. Deep, I know.

Denmar Balenciaga held his last show out of schedule to the usual fashion calender which caused major press attention. Giving the brand more money and buying power as appose to those who restricted themselves to fashion weeks.